Celtic Harmonies Festival
Ellen Gibling
CONT’D
EPAGE 3 llen Gibling is a Canadian harpist and she started playing music when she was just five years old. “I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and started taking group piano lessons when I was five. I had musical training in school music classes, band, and choir, and later in private piano and harp lessons as a teenager. I went on to study classical harp at Mcgill and recently studied Irish Traditional harp at the University of Limerick.”
As a traditional artist, she has been playing music for almost 15 years. “I've been playing traditional music since I was introduced to the Irish session scene in Montreal as a student around 2005.”
While she knew that she always wanted to play music in some way shape or form, Ellen is open to different opportunities when it comes to her career. “It has always been an experiment! I know I always want to keep playing music in some capacity but I'm open to other career avenues. I have some training in technical theatre and am starting a millinery apprenticeship. I'll keep pursuing a music career as long as it remains sustainable and opportunities keep coming up!”
“A few years ago I was very fortunate to play a concerto with Symphony Nova Scotia in a youth orchestra alumni concert, that felt like a big project, but if I think back to times I felt happiest about my playing they are usually smaller moments of success. Like times when something unexpectedly beautiful comes up in performance with an ensemble, or when an audience member has a profound reaction to something they hear in a concert, or when something I've been working on for a long time finally clicks.”
For Ellen, continuing to pursue a career in music all came down to discovery. “I have chosen to keep pursuing music because I really love the people I've met and the new experiences I've had through music. I find it endlessly fascinating and there is always something new and exciting to learn or listen to. Music is a very powerful communicator of emotion and connects people in so many interesting ways. It's also just simply a continual delight to participate in and I have so much fun teaching and playing.”